It’s hard to believe that we’re already at the end of The Bold Type‘s season four finale, especially given that we were due some additional episode before COVID-19. That, and things were really starting to heat up.
Following last week’s emotional episode, we find Sutton dealing with the aftermath of Richard leaving her. She’s having a difficult time dealing with it in New York City, so she decides to head home to Pennsylvania, which gives her the clarity she needs.
Elsewhere, Jane finds herself standing up for a story that she believes in — one that could become tabloid fodder revolving around Jacquline’s husband. And Kat finds herself struggling with her feelings for Eva, who stands for everything she doesn’t believe in.
Let’s discuss this season finale of The Bold Type, which had our trio dealing with some important moments and decisions in their lives.
Finding Yourself
Following the events of last week’s heartbreaking episode, Sutton is left reeling after Richard decided to leave her. She’s a wreck, and she feels like she doesn’t know who she is without Richard.
Which is the exact moment when I knew that something drastic was going to happen in this episode where she learned the exact opposite. Because Sutton doesn’t need Richard to define her. She is her own person — she was before, and she’ll be after.
Sutton ultimately decides to go home to Harrisburg to see her mom. Because regardless of how complicated her relationship is with her mom, daughters just needs their moms sometimes. The only problem is that she can’t seem to find her mom. So she spends some time with her high school flame, Billy, where the two get drunk and have drunken sex. They get caught by Billy’s wife, who calls Sutton “her mother” before stalking off.
Back at her mom’s house, Sutton gets a message from her mom that she’s not in town because she went to Atlantic City with a new friend of the male variety. Then Sutton finds the wine in the fridge and the vodka in the freezer, and she realizes that her mom hasn’t changed after all of these years.
Believe it or not, this was something that Sutton needed to do to get over her breakup with Richard. She needed to go home — to remind herself that she doesn’t belong there, and that, most importantly, she’s not her mother. She’s her own person.
Taking a Stand
There’s nothing more important than standing up for what you believe in. Whether that’s your beliefs, your friends and family, or your work. Which is exactly what Jane did in this finale.
Watching Jane’s journey from timid writer to bold editor has been so satisfying over these four seasons. And this episode really reminded us that Jane is willing to stand up for what she’s reporting on — no matter who stands in the way. Even the woman she looks up to.
Jane has absolutely been killing it at Scarlet with her articles, and she’s become someone that people in need can come to for help. They believe she can help them tell their stories in a way that will be respected and heard. And they’re right. Jane’s dedication and passion lead her to stop at nothing to get to the truth and to expose wrongdoings in society.
Which is why Jane is approached by a woman that needs Jane’s help to tell her story about her misogynistic, pig of a boss. Turns out one of her male editors has been asking his employees to do some pretty inappropriate things — cleaning up after him and his mistress — even though he has no right to do so. What’s worse is that this woman turned to her managing editor, Nicole Keating, who promised to look into it. But, shocker, she never did.
It’s gross enough when a man does this kind of stuff of his own volition. But when a woman is defending his behavior — covering his ass — it’s just disgusting.
There’s most definitely a story here, and if anyone can find it and shine a bright ass light on it, it’s Jane. But when Jane interviews Jacqueline’s husband Ian, he tells Jacqueline that Jane can’t go forward with this story. Turns out Ian was dating Nicole when he and Jacqueline were separated. So if Jane, one of Jacquline’s reporters, were to go after Nicole, it would look like Jacqueline is targeting her. Even though she’s not.
But, as we know, more often than not it’s not about the truth but about the public perception. And there’s more than a good possibility that someone would find the link between Jacqueline and Nicole. Jacqueline isn’t about to cover a good story up — until Ian begs her to drop it. For their sons. So she does.
When Jane eventually connects the dots as to why Jacqueline made her drop the story, she’s conflicted about what to do. On the one hand, she feels passionately about this story and helping this woman. On the other hand, Jacqueline is her superior, and she has to respect her wishes. Right?
Alex tells Jane to fight for the story, if it’s truly something she’s passionate about. She knows she can’t be afraid to call out bad behavior. So she goes to Jacqueline to defend her story. Jacqueline tells her everything about Ian’s connection to Nicole and the possible tabloid fodder that could result from it. Which Jane understands. But she also thinks the story is important. It’s everything Jacqueline has taught her that Scarlet stands for. Jane is confident she can handle this story, and she feels like she’s earned the right to try.
Jacqueline couldn’t agree more, and you see the moment where she makes the decision to go against her husband’s wishes — again, because of Scarlet. Jacqueline is banking on this story being bulletproof. And she shows her trust in Jane by letting her continue, even at the disapproval of her husband.
Opposites Attract
You can’t help who you’re attracted to. We’ve all been there. We recognize that someone isn’t good for us, but we can’t help the feelings that stir within. Which is exactly where Kat finds herself with Eva.
Kat and Eva couldn’t be more polar opposites. Kat is a passionate liberal while Eva is a diehard conservative, and their differing viewpoints could almost be considered an immediate dealbreaker. Which looked to be the case. Until their podcast.
When Kat and Eva recorded their podcast, it was clear that their values are completely different. But there was also a level of respect that came with those differing opinions, as they were both learning in the process. Even Kat, who before wouldn’t give someone time to preach their conservative values. Then Eva revealed herself to be a lesbian, and everything changed.
Last week, Kat and Eva made out in her apartment, which certainly added a shocking new wrinkle to the fold. Their attraction to each other is undeniable, and that was in full force in this season finale. No matter how hard Kat wanted to deny it, after Jane’s initial judgement about Eva as a person, she couldn’t help but be drawn to her.
Kat is approached by her boss at the Belle, who says they’ve been receiving criticism about the first episode, which some Belle members feels gave Eva a platform to preach her conservative values. And that’s not someone they’d want to be associated with, right? So they need to do some damage control ahead of the launch for the podcast, and they book Kat’s second guest.
During the podcast, Eva comes up — about how people like her are a problem for people trying to make real change. Kat, who’s jiving with the guest, says that, “If you’re against Eva, you must be doing something right.” And you can tell immediately Kat is thrown off by her remark. It certainly doesn’t help when Eva defends Kat on a conservative talk show. She discusses how she and Kat are alike in that they both want the world to be a better place, they just go about it differently. She doesn’t agree with Kat’s views, but she respects her.
At the launch event, Kat opens up about how she got carried away on her podcast when her name came up. “Clearly you’re a better person than I am,” Kat says. But Eva knows no one is perfect. She just brushes it off. Could it be as easy as Eva believing in this podcast and in Kat?
Jane notices them flirting and confronts Kat, who tells her that she made out with Eva. She’s worried about her getting hurt in all of this. Jane doesn’t understand because Eva is a toxic person, and a lot of people at the Belle feel that way. Then, the unthinkable. Kat defends Eva, saying that while they have different views, she feels like she’s learning from Eva. She doesn’t think she’s a bad person deep down.
While the two hook up later — not being able to stop their attraction — Kat later messages her that she can’t do this anymore because it’s too complicated. While this was the season finale, there were supposed to be more episodes. So I don’t doubt for a second that this isn’t over.
Now, Kat has to decide for certain if it’s worth jeopardizing her values to be with someone she clearly has feelings for. Buckle up.
It is EVA! You go back and forth between Ava and Eva in this recap!